Network emulation, whereby the conditions of a hypothetical network are simulated, is often integrated in the performance modeling of an application where reception, or delivery, of data by the application over a network is important. Present techniques for network emulation may include the insertion of a dedicated network emulator, in hardware or software, on a local area network (LAN) or as a node on a wireless local area network (WLAN).
Present techniques in the emulation of network condition include scenarios wherein network emulators can be deployed to model several properties of a target network, including network latency, jitter, and estimate packet loss over the network, or, notably, model aspects of bandwidth parameters associated with the target network, or delay variation in isolation. However, existing techniques do not include scenarios wherein some or all of these parameters can be combined, i.e., existing techniques may be able to emulate bandwidth or delay parameters, or the packet ordering associated with a target network, but not all of these. In this context, it is clear that there exists a need in the art for the provision of methods and systems for optimizing the performance of an application communicating over a network, wherein the method used is able to accurately model multiple conditions associated with a target network simultaneously.